Local YMCA Joins the Fight

Goal: Establish an endowed fund to provide water safety and swimming lessons to children at the Euclid Family YMCA and Downtown YMCA branches.

Background: A fund is being established at the Euclid Family YMCA in memory of Kaelin Hampton, 11, who drowned Aug. 16 in the lake at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp Resort in Mantua.

The fund will provide water safety and swimming lessons to children at the Euclid and Downtown YMCA branches, where he attended summer day camp for the past year. Donations may be made at the Euclid Family YMCA, 631 Babbitt Road, Euclid, OH 44123 or the YMCA of Greater Cleveland, 2200 Prospect Avenue E, Ste. 900, Cleveland, OH 44115. People may also take donations to your local Fifth Third Bank, or Chase Bank under the Kaelin M. Hampton Foundation.
Kaelin, grew up in South Euclid and Euclid, he played football for the following leagues; Euclid Junior Panthers in the Euclid Recreation Department's North Coast Youth Football League and also for the South Euclid Gators. Kaelin also played in the Euclid Recreation Department's Summer Youth Basketball League. Kaelin would have been a sixth grader this current school year.
At the age of 11, Kaelin was growing into himself, he was 5’8” and was just hitting his stride in sports."Kaelin was a quiet young man who had recently begun to remove his protective shell," say his close family and friends. "One of Kaelin's favorite things to do was to watch and play football." As witnessed by the honor bestowed upon him from The Euclid Junior Panthers, who have established several awards to be given to players that exemplify Kaelin’s character on and off the field.
"Our purpose is to insure that a tragedy like this doesn't happen again," said LaTria Turner, a Euclid YMCA volunteer and Euclid Junior Panthers mom who is spearheading the fundraising effort. Turner and Kaelin’s mother, Angel Hampton, became friends through their sons’ involvement on the football team.
"If we can prevent another family from suffering this tragedy, Kaelin's life will not have been lost in vain."